Spring construction for furniture



Oct 30, 1956 c. P. SIMMONS 2,768,390

SPRING CONSTRUCTION FOR- FURNITURE Filed Oct. 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F1 l. A H I A j 7 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1956 Filed 001:. 27, 1955 C. P. SIMMONS SPRING CONSTRUCTION FOR FURNITURE ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 4,168,390 SPRING CONSTRUCTION FOR FURNITURE Charles P. Simmons, Americus, Ga. I ApplicationOctober 27, 1955, Serial No. 543,205

' 9 Claims. (Cl. -5 1)' This inventionrelates to a spring construction for furniture, and it has 'particularreference to control means for so spanning the longitudinal gap between the seat member. and the back member of a settee, davenport, chair or. the like which is convertible from seating, or angular, position to bed, or planar, position, that when the members .are in seating position the cushion construction, which is common to, and continuous over both members, will be properly adjusted to eliminate unsightly and uncomfortable ridges, bulges and the like unevenness, and when the members are in bed position will provide a proper and effective support for the cushion construction at the gap between the'members so that any valley or'unsupported portion in thecushion construction, with theldiscomfort to. the user caused thereby, will be removed. 1

Many devices have been developed with the solution of the difiiculties 'of propervsupport and tension-ing of the'cushion construction of furniture of this general character in mind, but' those now known have failed to acc'omplish the desired results primarily for the reason that .when they are so designed as to be satisfactorily effective in their. action upon'the cushion construction when the seat and back members are in bed' arrangement they are. ineffective when these members are in seating arrangement, and viceversa.

Observation-indicates. that the failure of known devices-to fully'answerthepu'rposes for which they are designed is due in great measure to the fact that, to function even with their limited effectiveness, they have been made to rely upon their direct connection. with rigid elements of the frames of the relatively movable seat and back members. Such connections are not only relatively difiicult to apply and-adjust properly during the assembly of the spring and cushion constructions but entail the furnishing of extra parts and the labor necessary for-their installation, thus adding to the cost of production. v

' The primary object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character first above referred to which will eliminate the faults of those now known while at the same'time being fully effective to perform the desired functions of such devices.

- Another object is to provide a device of this character which is connected only to the spring constructions of the seat and back members, appropriate means being emstructions ofthe seat and back members, will function .automat-icallyupon the changing of arrangement of said members from seating position to. bed position, and vice versa, to adjust. and support the cushion construction in the manner necessary and desirable for the comfort of the user and the appearance of the settee-bed or the .like;

, Still another object is to provide a device of this char- "acter which, due to its connection only with the spring constructions of the seat and back' members, forms, in a sense, an'iritegral or continuing connecting part for such 'spring constructions and hence is movable therewith and responsive totheii resiliency to thus provide, in effect, a continuous spring construction beneath, and for the support of, the continuous cushion construction.

Patented Oct. 30, 1956 A still further object is to provide a device of this character with means whereby it may be attached with a minimum of labor to the edge wires of the spring constructions' of the seat and back members, or, when such edge wires do not form parts of the spring constructions, to the top coils of the springs themselves.

Another object is to provide the device of the invention which, although it includes a central longitudinal pivot and is pivotally connected to the edge wires, or to the springs, of the spring constructions of the seat and back members and may flex upon all of these pivots, with means whereby the pivotal action of its parts will be so controlled and limited that its functioning will produce the desired adjusting and positioning of the cushion construction.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which may be produced in a width proper for spanning a gap of the normally accepted standard width between the spring constructions of the seat and back members of furniture of the types referred to, but may be made in various lengths to accommodate it to use in furniture of different sizes.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent from the following description, the invention comprises control means for spanning the gap between the seat member and the back member of a convertible settee-bed construction having, in effect, a continuous cushion construction common to both of said members, said spanning means comprising a pair of similar U-shaped frame members having their loops extending longitudinally of said gap between the spring constructions of said seat and back members, a pivot member arranged in substantial parallelism with and medially of said loops and to which the legs of said frame members are pivotally connected, webbing means associated with each of said frame members and connected with the loops thereof and with said pivot member, a spring member carried by said pivot member and having arms engaging the loops of said frame members and serving normally to bias said frame members to lie in a common horizontal plane but permitting said frame members to pivot against such biasing effect, means for pivotally connecting the loops of said frame members with the spring constructions of said seat and back members, respectively, and means for anchoring said cushion construction to said pivot member so that upon pivotal movement of said.

frame members upon said pivot member in a direction counter to the biasing effect of said spring member said cushion construction will be caused to follow said pivot member; and the invention includes, further, novel elements of construction and arrangement of parts, all as will be explained hereinafter more fully and finally claimed.

'In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated,

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation of the seat and back members of a settee-bed or the like, with the control device of the invention operatively connected with the respective spring constructions and the common cushion construction thereof; the parts being shown in their planar, or bed, position,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 as regards the elements shown, but illustrating the parts in their angular, or seat, position,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the control device of the invention, its connection, alternatively, to the edge wire of a spring construction, or to the springs themselves, being indicated by the dot-and-dash line showing of these elements at opposite edges of the control device,

seen from the left of Fig. 3,

Fig. is a sectional elevation taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3, but with omission of parts to the right of those shown,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the abutment member for the biasing springs of the device, and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of clip means for connecting the control device with the spring constructions of the seat and back members.

As broadly illustrative of the type of spring and cushion constructions with which the device of the invention is especially adapted to be associated, Figs. 1 and 2 show portions of the seat member A and back member B of a settee-bed or the like, these members having spring constructions each including abase C carrying the usual coil spring assembly D which preferably includes an edge wire E. The bases C of the two spring constructions are pivoted together for movement from bed position (Fig. 1) to seat position (Fig. 2) by longitudinally oppositely arranged hinge members F having their pivots G in axial alignment. A continuous cushion and cover construction H common to the seat and back members A and B is supported by the spring constructions D as is customary, and this cushion construction may be of any appropriate type such as foam rubber, hair, cotton, kapok or the like, that shown being represented as foam rubber with covering material omitted.

Having reference particularly to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the control device of the invention includes a pair of similar U-shaped frame members having their loops 1 in substantially parallelism and pivoted at the ends of their legs 2 by eyes 3 to a pivot member 4 arranged in parallelism with and substantially medially of the loops 1.

Extending between the loops 1 and pivot member 4, and connected therewith by offset bends or crimps 5 and 6, respectively, so as to produce a substantially serpentine cushion supporting structure, are continuous, separate web members 7 which may pivot with the frame members 12 upon the pivot member 4.

All of these parts are preferably made of wire of such gauge and stiffness as to meet the requirements of rigidity or springiness, or both, necessary for the performance of their desired functions, as will appear hereinafter.

The dimensions of the framework furnished by the frame members 12 and the pivot member 4 are not critical so long as they are made to effectively accommodate the device to the furniture in which it is incorporated. However, the width of the gap extending longitudinally between the spring constructions C-D-E of the seat member A and back member B of furniture of the type in which the device will be incorporated has been more or less standardized at a little over six inches and hence the outside width of the device (from loop to loop of the two frame members) will be of the order of six inches so that their legs 2 will pivot on the pivot member 4 in arcs of a radius of approximately three inches. The length of the frame members 12 and pivot member 4 will preferably, but not necessarily, be continuous and such as to run substantially the full length of the gap between the said spring constructions. For a settee-bed this length is usually of the order of seventy inches, but it may obviously be more or less as the size of the piece of furniture may dictate. Also, as just above indicated, the required length may be made up by a suitable plurality of sections complete in themselves and individually of such length as, when combined end-to-end, to be capable of producing accepted standard lengths.

Mounted upon the pivot member 4 are control spring members 8 preferably arranged in pairs with the pairs of such number and so spaced longitudinally of the pivot member 4 as to most effectively perform their desired function as will be described hereinafter, and these spring members 8 have arms 9 extending substantially radially outwardly from the pivot member with their ends 10 pivotally connected to the loops 1 of the frame members 1-2. These spring members 8, through their arms 9, serve normally to bias the loops 1 on their pivotal connections 3 with the pivot member 4 into a horizontal plane.

Thus, as viewed in Figs. 4 and 5, these spring members will normally function to bias the two loops 1 upwardly about the pivot member 4 until they lie in a common horizontal plane, as shown.

Having reference to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be apparent that, when the back member B is shifted upwardly from bed position, Fig. 1, to seat position, Fig. 2, it is essential that, as the loops 1 are brought closer together, the pivot member 4 be moved rearwardly (to the right, Fig. 2). To insure such movement, and to prevent movement in the opposite direction, abutment means 11 (Fig. 6) are mounted upon the pivot member 4 with their cross bars 12 underlying (rearwardly opposing) the arms 9 of the spring members 8 and also the adjacent passes of the web members 7.

As shown particularly in Figs. 3 to 5, and 7, the loops 1 of the frame members are provided with clip means which will be so arranged longitudinally of these loops, and furnished thereon in such number, as to effectively pivotally connect the opposite loops with the edge wires E of the spring constructions of the seat and back members A and B. These clips comprise pivot turns 13 applied to the loops 1, lower engaging elements 14 having upwardly offset bearing cars 15 which may be slipped under the edge wires E, or under the top coils E, Fig. 3, of the springs of the spring constructions, and upper engaging elements 16 which may be slipped over such edge wires or top coils, and it will be apparent that cooperation of the upper elements 16 with the lower elements 14 will trap such edge wires or top coils between them and in pivotally attached condition with relation to the bearing cars 15. If desired, however, after this slip engagement has been made the upper elements 16 may be bent downwardly around the edge wires or top coils.

For most etfective functioning of the control device the spring constructions of the seat and back members A and B should be so disposed with respect to the pivotal axis of the hinge pivots G that, when the loops 1 of the frame 12 are attached to the edge wires E of these spring constructions, the axis of the pivot member 4 of the control device will be offset rearwardly of the axis of the pivots G as shown in Fig. 1. This offset will preferably be about one inch in most furniture but may vary according to the size of the piece.

When the control device has preferably been thus installed between the spring constructions of the seat and back members A and B, as shown in Fig. l, by proper connection of the clips on the loops 1 of the frame members with the edge wires E, the cushion member H is applied and is anchored directly to the pivot member 4 of the device by anchoring means, such as the tufting buttons 17 and cords or wires 18, at appropriate intervals throughout the length of the pivot member 4.

As will be apparent by reference to Figs. 1 and 3, with the parts thus assembled and in planar, or bed, position, the control device will span the gap between the spring constructions of the seat and back members A and B and will serve not only to prevent the formation of a valley in the cushion construction H along the line of this gap but, due to its own resilient nature inherent in the spring members 89 and the web members 7, taken also in combination with the resiliency of the spring constructions of the seat and back members to which it is connected, will. resiliently support the cushion construction in the line of the gap and thus, forming in efiect a continuation of the two spring constructions, will make this gap cllinnoticeable to one who occupies the bed thus pro v1 e When the seat and back members A and B are adjusted to angular, seat, position, Fig. 2, it will be seen that the normal tendency of the cushion construction H to bulge outwardly (to the left, Fig. 2) at the line of the gap will be restrained by its connection through the anchoring means 1718 with the pivot member 4 of the control device. Moreover, as the distance between the edge wires E at points of connection with the control device decreases during angular adjustment of the seat and back members, the pull exerted by the receding pivot member 4 of the control device will, through its anchoring connections 17-18 with the cushion construction H, cause a bight H of this cushion construction to be drawn rearwardly, thus serving to prevent the creation of any uncomfortable or unsightly bulges or ridges in either the seat or back member. It should be noted, here, that the abutment member 11-12 will prevent the control device from flexing in a direction the reverse of that shown in Fig. 2.

Obviously, when the parts are again moved to bed position, Fig. 1, the control device will act in reverse to eliminate the bight H and restore the cushion construction to its desired planar arrangement, resiliently supported at the gap, as shown. Here, again, the abutment device 1112 will limit upward movement of the pivot member 4 above the plane of the webbing formed by the members 7.

It will be noted that the control device of the invention is wholly supported by and movable with the spring constructions of the seat and back members of the piece of furniture, and therefore will function effectively without resort to any connection with rigid parts of these seat and back members which latter has been one of the primary defects and causes of functional failure of similar devices heretofore known.

Moreover, the control device being of a self-contained and standardized nature it can be supplied to furniture manufacturers as an accessory ready for installation by them with a minimum of labor and even without the use of tools, thus material-1y reducing the manufacturers production costs while at the same time aiding in the production of a spring construction superior to, and simpler for a comparable purpose than, any heretofore known.

Various changes and modifications are considered to be within the principle of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a convertible settee-bed construction including a seat member and a back member each provided with a spring construction, and a cushion construction common to both of said members and overlying their said spring constructions, and said members being joined by hinge connection means at their adjacent but relatively separated edges to provide for their conversion from relative angular, or seating, to relative planar, or bed, arrangement, a device providing control means spanning the gap longitudinally of and between the spring constructions of said seat and back members and serving to properly radjust and support said cushion construction when the members are in seating and bed arrangement, respectively, said control means including a pair of similar substantially rigid U-shaped frame members having their loops adapted to extend longitudinally of said gap, a pivot member disposed substantially medially longitudinally of the loops of said frame members and to which the legs of said frame members are pivotally connected, a webbing member assooiated with each of said frame members and connected with the loops thereof and with said pivot member, a spring member carried by said pivot member and having arm means connected with the loop of each of said frame members and serving normally to bias said frame members to lie in a common horizontal plane, means for pivotally connecting the loops of the respective frame mmbers with the spring constructions of the seat member and back member, respectively, and means for anchoring said cushion construction to said pivot member.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which means are provided for limiting the biasing eifect of the spring means of said control means to that in which the loops of said frame members lie in said common horizontal plane.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2, in which said limiting means serve also to insure that pivotal movement of the frame members upon the pivot member during erection of the back member from bed forming to seat forming position will be only such as to cause the pivot member to recede from the cushion construction, thus insuring that, by virtue of said anchoring means, a bight of said cushion construction will be drawn rearward'ly between adjacent edges of said back and seat members.

4. The device as claimed in claim 2, in which the means for limiting the biasing effect of said spring means comprise a member carried by said pivot member and having abutment means extending into the path of movement of the arm means of said spring member.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the means for connecting the loops of said frame members to the spring constructions of said seat and back members comprise clip members attached to said loops and upper and lower engaging elements for embracing adjacent members of said spring constructions.

6. The device as claimed in claim 5, in which one of the engaging elements of said clip members is provided with an offstanding ear for hook engagement with the member of the spring construction adjacent to it.

7. A control device for spanning the gap longitudinally of and between the spring constructions of the seat and back members of a settee-bed or the like, and adapted to adjust and support a cushion construction common to both of said members and extending across said gap, said control device including a pair of similar substantially rigid U-shaped frame members having their loops adapted to extend longitudinally of said gap, a pivot member disposed substantially medially longitudinally of the loops of said frame members and to which the legs of said frame members are pivotally connected, a webbing member associated with each of said frame members and connected with the loops thereof and with said pivot member, a spring member carried by said pivot member and having arm means connected with the loop of each of said frame members and serving normally to bias said frame members to lie in a common horizontal plane, means for pivotally connecting the loops of the respective frame members with the spring constructions of the seat member and back member, respectively, and means for anchoring the said cushion construction to said pivot member.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, in which means are provided for limiting the biasing effect of the spring means of said control means to that in which the loops of said frame members lie in said common horizontal plane.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8, in which said limiting means serve also to insure that pivotal movement of the frame members upon the pivot member during erection of the back member from bed forming to seat forming position will be only such as to cause the pivot member to recede from the cushion construction, thus insuring that, by virtue of said anchoring means, a bight of said cushion construction will be drawn rearwardly between adjacent edges of said back and seat members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,037,283 McKnight Sept. 3, 1912 2,335,036 Young NOV. 23, 1943 2,601,890 Smith July 1, 1952 2,654,099 Ake et al. Oct. 6, 1953 

